Join Friends of the QueensWay for a Bike Tour Along the Proposed Elevated Park This Spring

We got a chance to walk the QueensWay for ourselves last fall, and soon even more people will be able to check out the abandoned rail line/proposed elevated park when it opens up for a bike tour this spring. The Friends of the QueensWay are organizing a ride-together event on March 15th so that the public can explore the entirety of the 3.5-mile long stretch of track, which starts in Rego Park and ends at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park. The goal of the tour is to show cyclists what could end up being a vibrant new bike path and park for Queens.

During the tour, cyclists will ride on both streets parallel to the former Rockaway Beach Long Island Rail Road tracks. Participants of the seven-mile-long tour will be able to hike up to 15 feet to reach a few areas of the proposed QueensWay, including a section of Forest Park. The event organizers hope this tour will not only showcase the future of the QueensWay, but also how the line could connect neighborhood locations and amenities together.

Although the project has run into some recent resistance from Community Board 5, the Friends of the Queensway are still pushing to make it happen. Soon after the bike tour, the group plans to hold a series of workshops in March and early April to show initial designs for the proposed park and residents will be able to raise their concerns and give feedback. The workshops are also part of a feasibility study that seeks to estimate the cost of construction, determine the levels of erosion, and check the structural integrity of the elevated rail line.